When You Wish Upon a Star
by Angelic Lawyer
Summary: Pure and simple fluff! It's a special night and Erik wants to share it with Christine. This is my first phic :) Please, read and review!


**A/N: **This is my first phic in English and I'm very happy to be posting here in FF.net. Well, the title was inspired by the song with this same name, from Disney's Pinocchio, especially Michael Crawford's version (what can I do? I'm totally his fan!). Please review; I would love to know your opinions about this story. Any grammatical error, please let me know, I'm finishing my English course and, well, grammatical isn't exactly my favorite part…

*This phic is very special to me, for obvious reasons. With time, my writing skills and grammatical knowledge increased considerably, so I decided to give a new treatment to this fic. It will happen to many other oldest works of mine, it's just a question of time. 

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters in this phic, they belong to Gaston Leroux and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. I wish they were mine, but... (hey, maybe a wish upon a star can solve it! :DD)

The last notes rumored in the music room as Erik looked up and met Christine's gaze for a moment, turning to close the piano right after.

"Well done, that's it for today," he said, examining her tired expression. "You need some rest before the rehearsals start."

"Thank you, Erik," she replied, placing her hands carefully on the piano's plan surface. "You're really helping me with this new opera. I don't know what I would do without our lessons."

"This is the least I can do for your incredible voice, Christine," his eyes flashed out the familiar adoration as he breathed, "You're gifted."

"Thank you," she whispered, blushing instantly, too breathless at the intensity of his gaze to say anything else.

They stayed in uncomfortable silence during a moment and Christine prepared to leave,

"Perhaps it's time for me to go home, before it's too late."

"Wait," he said abruptly, hesitating before meeting her expectant blue eyes, "you know your room is available all the time, Christine, and I think we both need some fresh air. Would you like to come with me on a walk to the roof? It'll..." 

"Yes, Erik. That sounds wonderful," she answered and smiled with childish eagerness, not even allowing him to finish his invitation. Christine could scarcely remember of a time when she had had the opportunity to go to anywhere with Erik and, knowing the secluded man he was, that sudden chance had to be seized. 

"It's probably very cold outside, so I suggest you to wear a cloak, " he sighed in secret relief, standing up to get his own black cloak.

He had taken all day to ask her. It was a unique night in the decade and Erik wanted Christine to see it more than everything.

Their walk to the roof took only a few minutes, in which Erik guided her throughout a labyrinth of hidden passages. He warned Christine every time she had to take a difficult step, fearing to cause her any injury if his attention lacked for a mere instant. 

She knew how Erik was concerned about her welfare, especially in the subterranean narrow walls. When those same paths still frightened her, he hadn't vacillated and had always taken her trembling hand in his. Only then she could walk confidently. Obviously, he had no idea of how she felt safe in his company and, as soon as she got used to the passages, he stopped acting this way.

Finally, they got into a balcony that Christine had never seen before. It was small and darkened, but with a perfect view of the sky. _Maybe only Erik knows this balcony, she thought enigmatically, __he knows every place in the Opera Garnier, even the most secret ones._

Ignoring the existence of these thoughts, Erik glanced at the sky and smiled to himself, noticing that the event he was waiting for hadn't started yet. Satisfied, he admired the view for some time, something he hardly had the time to do. It was a pleasant evening; the dusk's dark-blue colored the sky for a few minutes, until a deep black replaced it. Considering that the Opera was closed, it was common to see almost no one on the streets that surrounded the building. 

Christine walked to the edge of the balcony and closed her eyes, feeling the cool night air stroking her hair and face. It was a good sensation; in the rare times that Erik had touched her, she could sense how cold his fingers were and now she felt as though it were his long, elegant fingers caressing her cheek, touching lightly her curls, daring to trace the line of her jaw…

She wasn't sure about her own feelings for him. Whenever they were apart, she could only think of their next encounter and when they were together, she felt in a way she had never felt before. He had enchanted her with his gentleness and patience, helping her with whatever she needed or making her feel safe. She couldn't deny that the ugliness of his face had terrified her at first, but with time she learned to see all the beauty of the human being behind it. All those conclusions didn't contain a specific meaning to her; they could be plain fascination, but they could also be... love.

Erik watched her in silence, never wishing to be surprised by her questioning gaze in his frequent moments of adoration. He recalled the first time he had seen her and heard her sing with her untrained voice; his heartbeat had doubled with the knowledge that he would fall hopelessly in love. Even though that feeling sometimes had hurt him badly, it hadn't vanished in any way.

_She is so pure and angelical; she will never love a devil like you. Besides, you know she deserves a better life than the one you would give her. She is light itself and you live in a world of darkness. _His face constricted at the truth of these conclusions. _But the darkness vanishes at the presence of the light._

His lips twisted in a bittersweet smile at this last thought – an answer coming from his heart. He knew he would never stop feeding the stupid hope of being loved at least for once in his life. Trying to forget this for a moment, he looked at the sky again, noticing its sudden change, and instinctively averted his gaze to Christine, calling her with unaccustomed joy in his voice,

"Christine, look at the sky!"

When Erik's gentle voice had forced her to emerge from her wandering thoughts, Christine would have never guessed what she was about to see. Right above them, stars were falling by tens, strangely looking like fireflies and obfuscating the pale full moon against the dark sky.

"Erik, this is amazing," she said after a few minutes of mute enjoyment, coming across the small space of the balcony to stand by his side, "I have never seen anything like this before!"

"I am glad to see you liked," he replied mildly, but couldn't prevent himself from stiffen at her sudden proximity, fighting his natural instinct to pull away.

"You knew it was going to happen, didn't you?" she asked, her hand lightly brushing his.

"Yes, my dear, I did," he nodded, feeling the sweet scent of her perfume. "I thought you would enjoy the surprise."

"You're an angel," she whispered, suddenly holding him tenderly and resting her head on his chest.

Erik made no reply. His mind was still processing Christine's words and his senses were slowly absorbing the myriad of sensations that came with her closeness. Simple feelings, caused by the light pressure of her head on his chest or some of her dark curls grazing softly his arms, were new to him, who had not known the warmth of a human touch, being rejected during his entire life. _Innocent child, I am not an angel, I am a monster and you know this. Please, don't do this to me... But even with these reluctant thoughts, he noticed that his body had relaxed and, unthinkingly, he had corresponded to her affectionate embrace._

For a long time, Christine purely dedicated her attention to the sound of his heart hammering as fast hers. _There is music coming even from the bottom of his heart… _ She assumed with a charming smile dancing in her lips, discovering rhythm within his heartbeat. Inhaling the sandalwood scent that emanated from him and feeling his strong arms slowly tightening around her, she concluded how rewarding following her heart was. Before closing her eyes in bliss, she glanced at the stars once again.

"Christine?" Erik reluctantly perturbed the quietness. "Are you awake?"

She nodded against his chest and muttered a "yes". Then, raising her head until her bright eyes met his dark ones, she said placidly, "Erik, people say that when you wish upon a star with all your faith and heart, your wish may one day come true."

"I know, angel," he nodded, supporting her gaze, "and my wish has already come true." He smiled and added, "I wished that you could see the stars here, with me."

Christine smiled and closed her eyes again. She knew that in the next day that peacefulness would fade away and her beloved tutor would hardly show his feelings again. But first, she wanted to live that night. Maybe the stars could realize another of her wishes?


End file.
